LAHORE: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif laid the foundation for two projects in Lahore on Saturday, one being the Bab-e-Pakistan project, which has been in development for over a decade, and the other being an upgrade to Walton Road.
Bab-e-Pakistan, which will be a national monument, is located on the site of one of the largest Muslim refugee camps that existed after Pakistan’s independence.
The idea for the memorial was proposed in 1985 by the late governor Ghulam Jilani Khan and was designed by architect Amjad Mukhtar, a graduate of the National College of Arts in Lahore.
PM Shehbaz has had a strong interest in the project, and when he was the chief minister of Punjab in 2009, he expressed frustration with the delay and emphasized the importance of using local materials and promoting a culture of austerity.
He also stressed that it was a national obligation to educate the youth about the Pakistan Movement and the reasons behind the founding of the country.
